Alice’s monthly mission: November

I’m going to stop saying how surprised I am that another month has gone by. It’s time to just accept that 2017 is nearly over <weeps> and yes, those are festive decorations in my photo.

I was invited down by Debenhams Market Street to try out their new Blow LTD salon (I’M ALL ABOUT THAT LIGHTING THOUGH), and it got me thinking about why this month I want to start appreciating the little things.

I’ll be honest: I haven’t felt my sparkling best recently. The life of a freelancer is very changeable, and I do not have the disposition to cope well with uncertainty!

So this month I want to start focusing on enjoying the little things.

What does that mean exactly? Well, I’ve realised I spend far too much time sweating over the future (“will I have work next month?” “am I doing enough networking?” “why am I not where I want to be?”) that I forget to enjoy the every day. Meanwhile, the little pleasures like going to a pub quiz with friends, exploring somewhere new, or even just getting my hair done I forget to appreciate.

Life is not a case of moving from one milestone to another. It’s not possible to continually exist at 1,000 miles an hour (despite what social media may have you believe). It’s important we celebrate with little pats on the back, and also give ourselves a break once in a while.

Here’s what me and my newly coifed do will be doing this month-

Take every victory as it comesYou go girl, you did some work today, gold sticker for you! Whether the victory is something big- like filling out a three-hour long job application- or small -like chatting to someone new, even at the pub- I’m going to stop being hard on myself and start being proud of what I achieve.

Take everything as a learning opportunityEvery day’s unpaid shadowing, or time spent watching documentaries by my favourite journalists is another chance to learn something new. Moreover, what I’ve found so far in my career is often “I can’t do this” quickly turns into “actually, this is OK” – it’s all about giving it a go, isn’t it?

Have fun!I’m the actual worst for being all work and no play. But you’ve gotta live, people! I’m going to try and socialise as much as I can this month, even if it’s so… freaking… cold.